When purchasing electronic devices, the out-of-box experience (OOBE) can be important. A consumer that is able to power up a newly purchased device and start to use it might be more pleased with the device compared to the case where the consumer needs to configure the device, run complicated processes, possibly debug problems, and the like before using the product. Some of those complexities can be alleviated by having the device programmed or configured with a user interface that displays information to the consumer and that also has a means for the consumer to input configuration information into the device to get the device set up. However, with the increasing number of devices without human interfaces, such as devices that are designed to communicate over a network as the primary method of sending and receiving data, the configuration process can become more difficult.
Security is also a consideration in setting up new devices. If all devices are unsecured, all networks are unsecured, and all servers are unsecured, then a new device might be able to find a wireless network connection, connect to a server and begin communications. However, this would entail considerable security risks, as servers typically should not necessarily trust all devices attempting communication, wireless networks typically should not allow for all unsecured communications, devices should not necessarily trust all wireless networks, and end users cannot be assured that unauthorized persons would not attempt to connect a destructive device to the end user's wireless network. In a secured environment, a new device would be first configured with security information, such as secret keys or passphrases, needed to connect to a secured network and/or secured servers and services.
This can be complicated for end users, so it might be desirable to have devices that can perform seamless processes for connecting to secured resources.